These results are shown by a study by the Baymard Institute, an independent research center. Its experts analyzed the main pages of 60 eCommerce sites from the USA and identified key errors in their usability. We tell you the most interesting.
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1. Showcasing only a small part of the product range
This problem occurs in 6% of the studied websites. Among them is one of the largest furniture retailers in the USA, Overstock. Its main page visually displays only 20% of the product categories from the entire assortment. This approach confuses new users. Not seeing the desired category on the main page right away, they conclude that there are no others, and therefore there is no point in searching. Therefore, people often leave without buying, and businesses lose money.
web design errors
This problem is even more acute on mobile devices. There, the list of categories is not displayed in full or is completely hidden until the user clicks on it. Therefore, users, trying to understand whether the site is right for them, look at the main page before moving on to site navigation. If they do not see what they need, they are likely to leave the site.
To avoid this, it is important to visually demonstrate at least 40% of your product categories. In other words, do not rely only on navigation, show the range of products clearly right on the main page. A good example of this approach, according to the Baymard Institute, is the B&H Photo website (screenshot below). It shows 90% of the product range. They were able to achieve this by designing product categories as a table with small product photos. An alternative option is to use icons. They are well suited for creating a mobile version of an online store.
the right design for an online store
2. Advertising overload
59% of the sites tested by Baymard Institute embed too many advertising banners on their homepages. And here the popular US retail chain Costco Wholesale stands out. The first thing you see when you visit its site is advertising of all types and sizes. It takes up a significant part of the homepage. At the same time, the products and product categories are not visible; to find them, you need to scroll down.
During testing, users rated this abundance of advertising negatively. Some even thought that they had mistakenly clicked on the wrong link and opened the wrong site. This situation also occurred when viewing the mobile version of the Walmart site. The advertising banner on it takes up the entire screen, so it is difficult for a newbie to immediately understand where he ended up.
web design mistake ad overload
Pop-ups and overlay dialog boxes were even more annoying to users. They were even called “spam”.
As an example of effective advertising placement on a website, the authors of the study cite Grainger and Northern Tool. The first does not make any flashy advertising at all, but only places a short text ad on its main page. The second formats all advertising as a "carousel".
Advice from Weblium: to avoid annoying users with your pop-ups, think through the schedule and method of their display. Don't show them right away, give the user time to study the site and get used to it. On our platform, you can set up a variety of conditions for displaying pop-ups and thus make them convenient to read. Register and test the pop-up designer yourself or read the details in our Knowledge Base.
3. Incorrect use of "carousels"
More precisely, the speed of scrolling through slides in the "carousel" was set incorrectly. On 75% of the tested sites, the slides changed too quickly. Users did not have time to view them, and if they tried to click, they were delayed. Instead of the desired link, another one opened, and many did not like this.
For example, the GAP website had a carousel where slides changed every 4 seconds - for many users this interval was unacceptable and inconvenient.
Clarification from Weblium: currently, the GAP website has norway phone number library removed the slides and simply scrolls the images in front of the user without stopping. The scrolling speed is fast, but sufficient to examine each image separately.
The takeaway here is: when using carousels, don't make them too fast. Otherwise, they'll do more harm than good. But don't forget about static images, like the ones on the Gilt website. They're often more effective than carousels because they don't flicker in front of your eyes, and the user can view everything at their own pace.
A good result is also shown by the combination of "carousels" and static images. So if you want to create an online store or already have a website - take this into account.
4. Avoid custom images
19% of tested websites use only standard product photos on their homepages. They do not have beautifully designed illustrations or staged shots of the product being sold. This has a negative impact on sales, according to researchers at Baymard Institute. Their previous studies show that bright visuals create a positive impression of the website and the product presented, increase user engagement and stimulate conversions. This is especially true for clothing, footwear, furniture and other product categories where aesthetics are of paramount importance.
